TOKYO, June 27, 2024 -- UBE Corporation (President: Masato Izumihara) announced today that it has certified its two newly developed products--bio-composite and recycled carbon fiber reinforced nylon composite--as the U-BE-INFINITY™ environmentally friendly products brand. The U-BE-INFINITY™ brand is given to environmentally friendly products under development, products and technologies developed by the UBE Group that demonstrate particularly outstanding positive environmental impacts, thereby enhancing the added value of the relevant products under development, products, and technologies. UBE seeks to help solve global environmental issues with U-BE-INFINITY™ brand products.

The newly developed products certified this time

1. Bio-composite

Wood-derived bio-composites offering alternatives to petroleum-based plastics to help reduce CO2 emissions.

The bio-composites* developed by UBE are masterbatches that are dry-blended with petrochemical-derived resins and are molded to easily reduce the carbon footprint of products without compromising moldability or mechanical properties. They have features to reduce mold contamination during molding and improve recyclability, which have been issues associated with general wood-based materials. UBE is promoting the customization and diversification of its bio-composite products to expand their application to a wide range of fields, including automotive components, logistics materials, construction materials, and furniture accessories.

* In the news release published on May 28, 2024, titled "UBE Announces That Torrecot™ Bio-Composites Have Obtained Biomass Mark Certification," UBE announced that its bio-composite product Torrecot™ received Biomass Mark certification from the Japan Organics Recycling Association (JORA), a third-party certification body.

2. Recycled carbon fiber reinforced nylon composite

Nylon composite made using material-recycled carbon fiber as a raw material.

The amount of waste containing carbon fiber is said to be increasing year by year, and establishing ways to utilize it has become a major issue. By employing the technology of Shinryo Corporation (President: Masaaki Tsuchiyama, Head Office: Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture) to extract high-quality carbon fiber from used parts containing carbon fiber, UBE has developed new composites by adding recycled carbon fiber to various types of nylons and applying various functional improvements. The new composites will not only reduce GHG emissions during carbon fiber production, but also help to reduce energy use in people's lives by reducing the weight and enhancing the functionality of various device components. UBE will supply the new composites to the automotive, sports-related, and other markets.

The UBE Group addresses global environmental issues by striving to reduce GHG emissions and pursuing the development and practical application of environmentally friendly products and technologies. By providing more customers with environmentally friendly products, technologies, and solutions, the UBE Group will help to solve global environmental problems that pose a challenge to society as a whole. This effort aligns with its vision for 2030, which declares the Group's intent to be "a corporate group centered on specialty chemicals that contributes to the global environment, human health, and an enriched future society."

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About the environmentally friendly product brand U-BE-INFINITY™

Special website for the environmentally friendly product brand U-BE-INFINITY™: https://www.ube.com/lp/u-be-infinity/en/

The brand concept of U-BE-INFINITY™ was formulated in a series of discussions held by the up-and-coming generation of younger UBE Group employees working in and outside Japan. The brand name reflects UBE's aspiration to attain infinite (INFINITY) social development together with its stakeholders.

Also, the multi-colored logo expresses UBE's determination to continuously change and adapt, never settling for the status quo, in order to help solve global environmental issues. UBE's founding principles are "coexistence and mutual prosperity" and "from finite mining to infinite industry," and the company remains committed to continuously developing innovative products and technologies to help resolve global environmental issues. In so doing, UBE aims to help build a truly infinite, sustainable future for all stakeholders.

The company's name, U-BE-INFINITY™, as well as its logo, the corporate logo, and the tagline logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of UBE Corporation in Japan and other countries.